Abstract:
Pollock & Riley, Inc., a beer distributor, filed suit against its supplier, Pearl Brewing Co., alleging that Pearl violated various provisions of the Sherman and Clayton Acts. Prior to voir dire, plaintiff moved that the court, through defendant’s counsel, instruct defendant and defendant’s witnesses to refrain from mentioning, in the jury’s presence, that plaintiff’s actual damages would be trebled and that plaintiff would also recover a reasonable attorney’s fee if successful in the suit. The district court sustained the motion in limine and Pearl brought an interlocutory appeal to the Fifth Circuit. Affirmed. In a treble damage action brought under section 4 of the Clayton Act, the jury should not be advised that actual damages will be trebled and the successful plaintiff will recover a reasonable attorney’s fee.